"The Los Angeles Lakers made a trade nobody could believe for Luka Doncic before the deadline," Watts wrote Monday. "It gave them an in-his-prime superstar to build their roster a

The move was so controversial that it led to protests and calls for the firing of the team's general manager, Nico Harrison. Doncic, drafted third overall in 2018 and acquired by the Mavericks in a draft-day trade, had been the face of the franchise since taking over from Dirk Nowitzki.

Minutes after Harrison traded Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and one future first-round pick, he was quoted on his reasoning for doing the deal. Additional explanations continued to spill out in the days following the trade,